


Our Hands Stretched Out Across the Middle Grounds

by EgregiousDerp



Category: Naruto
Genre: (Gaara Voice) “SAND COFFEE”, (Kakashi got elected pretty fast is the assumption and everyone’s like. Twenty.), (means there’s angst for the rest of you.), Also Naruto’s here, And the question of what makes the perfect shinobi, Blank Period, Boy is Naruto here, But that’s how you get Mutual Pining bro so please don’t fight it, But there’s coffee in the politics so, Canon Typical Violence, Canon typical hand waving of emotional traumas, Eventual Gaslighting Warning?, M/M, Mutual Pining, NOT SAFE FOR SCARLET, Oscillating POV, Politics, Post Fourth Shinobi World War, Rating’s for that and the Gaslighting anyway, Some gross misassumptions on the part of the populace of Suna about said friendship, That’s right Lads this is it: THE CHEESE SWEATER, also canon typical ninja bullshit, i forget who said ‘Naruto and Lee have a homoerotic jock friendship’ but YEAH, not a coffee shop au, post-war transitions and the resistances thereof, they’re IDIOTS Harold
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgregiousDerp/pseuds/EgregiousDerp
Summary: “Naruto-kun.” Lee cut him off more loudly. The beat of silence was almost deafening. “I do not think it was anyone’s fault. I do not believe that casting blame or seeking vengeance is the key to making one a strong Shinobi who can protect others.”He moved a little further onto the edge of the bed.“Besides, is it not unpleasant to have something held against you that you cannot help about yourself? Does it not make you want to surpass that limit at all costs?”
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee
Comments: 28
Kudos: 39
Collections: GaaLee / LeeGaa Holiday Exchange





	Our Hands Stretched Out Across the Middle Grounds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Luna_Lee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Lee/gifts).



> I wasn’t planning on chaptering this, but the pacing and the idea grew in scope on me, and I lost about two weeks of work time to back to back sicknesses, retail, and jury duty, so.
> 
> This is a Gift for Eeri, ContrEeri here and SageModeRockLee on tumblr. It’s made for the GaaLee winter exchange. It comes with a free coupon redeemable by Eeri for a new fic with no questions asked if this doesn’t turn out to be quite what they wanted.
> 
> Favorite tropes in the request form included “politic heavy dramas” “coffee shop au” and “mutual pining”.
> 
> I’ve tried to mash up about two and a half of those things together into an ungodly creation, referred to vaguely within glugchat as “like trying to knit someone a sweater out of string cheese.” The irony of which was pointed, because I’m pretty sure my recipient doesn’t do dairy in real life.
> 
> I’m nowhere near bold enough to pull off a coffee shop AU for someone with actual barista training, so...slight adjustments have been made. I’m also not super rigorous with canon details and hope I can be forgiven because. Well. I couldn’t ASK the greatest given resource for canon fact checking I know, and my mind might say “research” but my heart says “shitty puns”.
> 
> SHOUT OUT TO THE AMAZING KURGAYA FOR A LAST MINUTE READ THROUGH~  
> ❤️>🐻, Cams!

“[...] _anyone who has ever sat in a lotus for more than a few seconds_  
_knows it takes a hell of a lot more muscle to stay than to go_.”

—Andrea Gibson, “Pole Dancer”

  
“9

_ Defy the flaws of your country. As water partakes of the qualities, good or bad, of the seams through which it flows, a human being absorbs the climate of his or her birthplace. Some owe more to their country than others because a happier zenith lay above them. There is no nation, even if the most cultured, without some inborn defect which it’s neighbors will not at once strike upon, either for their caution or their comfort. To eradicate such national weaknesses in yourself, or at least hide them, is a commendable skill. Thus you make yourself unique among your kind, for what is least expected is most esteemed.” _

— The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Baltasar Gracián

  
  
  
  
  
  


-o-O-o-

The wooden walls of the puppet gave a lurch, sending Naruto colliding with Lee for the third time in as many minutes in a tangle of orange limbs and leg warmers.

It turned out Lee was surprisingly solid.

Naruto shoved himself off of Lee’s chest, rubbing his smarting nose with a loud, “ _Getoffa me_!”

“Right! Sorry! I am very sorry, Naruto-kun!”

It would have been easier to really stay pissed off if Lee wasn’t good-naturedly trying to steady him, or if his arms hadn’t flown back the moment Naruto blamed him for being fallen on. It wasn’t like it was the guy’s fault he had a talent for being mostly elbows. And muscles apparently. Definitely muscles.

Naruto glowered for a moment trying not to wonder if Lee had a better rack than Sakura.

Lee stared at him in curiosity as he flailed at the air trying to disperse the thought.

It was _hot_ in the creaking belly of the puppet, and very dark, the only light coming from the slat openings that were probably there so whoever was left inside the capture box wouldn’t actually suffocate, but Naruto didn’t feel like being that generous to the guy.

Suna’s day temperatures were no walk in the park at a normal time, but right now, the wooden belly felt like a furnace to Naruto.

The limited air flow did nothing to disguise Lee’s up-close reek of sweat. Which in turn did nothing to improve Naruto’s already foul mood.

He scowled to himself. Whatever! It wasn’t Lee’s fault he _stank._ Naruto was feeling a little tacky inside his orange jumpsuit too if he was being honest. It was kinda expected. Plus, being mad always gave him indigestion, besides—probably something to do with having a pissed off fox spirit locked up in his guts, laughing at his comparative impotence. That he was becoming more in tune with his lifelong guest didn’t mean Kurama didn’t have his own vicious humor, and didn’t sometimes leave his own little punishments. 

Lee being too polite to point out maybe he should lay off the dairy still didn’t make the situation any more workable when it came to being stuck in a smelly wooden box with another dude.

He _did_ feel a little bad when Lee scooted back, clearly trying to give him as polite a personal space as possible.

Could be the gas, or could just be Lee trying to be nice.

There wasn’t much space to be had, but the guy tried, y’know? That was something that could always be said for Lee: he _tried_. 

It was kind of his thing, really. Trying.

There were probably way worse guys to be stuck with. _Sasuke,_ for instance.

“Heya, Bushy-Brow?”

“Yes, Naruto-kun?”

“How the _hell_ did this even happen?”

Lee blinked in the near-dark at the mostly-rhetorical question.

In such close quarters his eyelashes were kind of spidery. It was kind of creepy, honestly, but hey. Lee had always been kind of weird-looking. So of course he was still pretty weird-looking up close, all bug eyes and bowl cut hair and pinched shut mouth and- well. _Eyebrows._ Mostly eyebrows.

He pointedly didn’t inspect the guy’s rack.

Naruto rubbed his sore nose again.

He was also pretty sure Lee’s chest was made out of bricks. Probably some weird training regimen you needed a green suit to really _get_.

Lee looked down at his feet, scrunching his body up tightly so he looked kind of like a frog. A skinny, unhappy frog. Kinda like Naruto’s wallet when it was empty.

He’d expected a rallying. An _I am glad that you have asked, Naruto-kun!_ followed by an excited recounting like they were on some adventure with no possibility of death or disaster in sight.

He was kind of counting on it really, because Lee was the kind of guy you could always count on to try to cheer you up. He’d had the ability to find Naruto when he was down and bluster his way in.

Instead, Lee didn’t say anything for a long while, which was _weird_. It wasn’t like the guy who peeked in windows and snuck around on rooftops checking to see if you were feeling down about yourself at all.

When he did speak it was worse than Naruto had thought it would be: a shaken whisper that was so unlike his friend.

“Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah? What is it, Bushy-Brow?”

Lee’s lip trembled. His voice was so small. It wasn’t _right_. Lee wasn’t like that! Lee would never let a thing like this get him down-!

“Do you think Gaara is alright?” Lee whispered.

Naruto fumbled.

He wouldn’t say he _flailed_ or anything, because the future seventh Hokage of Konoha had to be dignified and stuff- and anyway, Lee didn’t seem to care if he got thwacked a little. He could take it, but it was freaking him out hearing him like this.

Even in the war he didn’t think he’d seen Lee scared.

Except when-

Naruto’s eyes went round, remembering Gai’s body on the ground, and the smell of flesh burning itself from within.

“H-Huh? Yeah! Of course he is! It’s not like that! Gaara’s- well, he’s _Gaara_! He’ll be fine! Why’re ya even asking it like that?!”

Lee’s pursed little mouth quivered in the near-dark, and he huddled tighter into his knees.

“Just you wait, Bushy-Brow! I bet they let us out real quick when they figure it out! No sweat! This is just a huuuuuuuge misunderstanding, ya know? Gaara’s gonna be fine! He-“

The image of Gaara bent over, coughing, lips gone gray, then blue replayed in his mind-

_Nah_!

Even dying hadn’t stopped Gaara before!

Gaara was one of the toughest people Naruto knew! And he definitely wasn’t about to do something like-!

Naruto tried not to think about the panic in Lee’s voice.

_ Aw man, I’m an idiot! Of course he’d be scared! He’s probably thinking this is like with Bushier Brow-Sensei! _

“He’s gonna be fine! Gaara’s always fine!”

Lee did something he’d never seen him do before, and actually put his hands over his ears, shutting his eyes tightly.

“Bushy-brow?”

Lee didn’t move.

“Hey! Are you _ignoring_ me?”

“I am sorry,” Lee whispered, uncovering his ears. “It is just very hard for me to think like this.”

Naruto snorted and huddled a little closer to him.

“You’re trying t’think?”

Lee didn’t answer, squeezing his eyes shut again.

The puppet wasn’t big enough for even one of them to stretch his legs out, let alone both of them, so it made for a lot of awkward shuffling where Naruto ended up mostly crouched over Lee. Lee seemed beyond minding. The guy had never been that good with personal space.

“What? Like small spaces freak ya out or something?”

Lee just blinked rapidly.

“No. That is not it,” he whispered.

“What’s up, then?”

Lee’s pinched little mouth pinched harder. His long lashes fluttered- aw no! Was he thinking of _crying_?

“Hey, no. Come on. Pull yourself together. The Bushy Brow I know is way tougher than this! He isn’t afraid of anything!”

Lee made a noise.

“Then I am afraid I have deceived you because you are quite mistaken.”

“Huh?”

Naruto shifted closer, bracing himself against a wall as the puppet moved and lurched. 

“I am frightened of many things. Most of all of losing the people who are precious to me. If Gaara-“ Lee swallowed, and stared at his hands in his lap. “If I have done all this training and still cannot protect anything- if I cannot overcome these fears, then why was I called for this mission in the first place?”

“H-Huh?”

Lee sniffed and dug the heels of his bandaged hands into his eyes. “So many people have been counting on me for this mission. But if I could not perform this mission, if things have gone this wrong, does that not mean I have utterly let them down? Does that not mean I am still-“ his voice broke, “still just a loser?”

Lee didn’t move when Naruto slapped his hands against the wood on either side of his head, then slapped his cheeks, holding him up by the face.

“ _Ouch_! Naruto-kun! What was that for?”

“Because you’re being so _weird_! The Bushy Brow I know would never give up! And he sure as hell isn’t a loser!”

Lee’s mouth pinched. He blinked hard.

“Naruto-kun-“

“It’s gonna be okay, ya got that?”

Naruto shot him a thumbs-up, watching Lee’s eyes widen.

“That’s an Uzumaki promise! We’re gonna be fine! And Gaara’s gonna be fine too! Just you wait and see! We’re gonna get out of this and when we do, I’m gonna get to the bottom of all this!”

He tried not to think about the last time he’d made that kind of promise.

Or about Sasuke. Who still wouldn’t come home. The empty hollow inside his false arm that felt hot some nights, cold others, and hurt at times so badly it felt like Sasuke’s lost hand was squeezing his tightly enough to crush it.

Lee’s mouth hung open. Gawking like that with his big, round eyes he kind of looked like a fish. But the future Hokage, on a diplomatic mission couldn’t go around telling people they looked like fishes!

He squawked when Lee shot forward with no warning, hugging him tightly around the neck. Naruto almost _fell_ on him.

He could feel a growing wet spot against his neck and the ticklish blinking of Lee’s creepy, spidery eyelashes that made him kind of want to shove him away. But the guy had a tighter grip than Sakura-chan!

“ _Easy_!” He wheezed.

“Naruto-kun, thank you!” Lee sobbed. (Oh man! He’d better not be getting snot on his jacket! This guy was _way_ worse than Sakura-chan!) “I do not wish to think of how worried I would be if I did not have such a good friend as you here!”

Naruto patted one green shoulder, wheezing, “Can’t... _breathe_!”

Lee let him go with a gasp, brushing at his shoulders in concern, “Oh, I am sorry!”

Naruto rubbed his aching neck with a _phew_.

“You are most right! Whatever has happened we must not lose heart, and we must find who did this to Gaara! Otherwise it is truly meaningless for us to be here!”

“Well yeah I- No? But yeah? I mean Gaara can kind of take care of himself-“

“No!” Lee exclaimed, making Naruto’s ears throb uncomfortably in the close space. “Even if it is hopeless! Even if it is as fruitless as my affections for the beautiful Sakura-chan, for the sake of this fire kindled within me, I must be true! And I must apologize to him for allowing my judgment to be clouded by his presence and to have put him in such danger!”

Naruto settled back into his butt, their legs still tangled up around one another.

“ _Wha_ -?”

The puppet tipped suddenly to the side, lurching them out into broad daylight.

Lee’s reflexes were as quick as ever, catching Naruto with one arm before he could scrape himself up on the tiles.

“Whew! Thanks again, Bushy-Brow- huhhhhh?”

His limbs wouldn’t obey him, tugged away from Lee, both of them standing.

“Wh-Why can’t I... move?”

Lee’s face was solemn when Naruto turned his eyes to stare at him, standing somehow straighter.

“Bushy-brow?”

A shadow fell over him.

“Cuddle time’s over.”

Naruto squinted up against the sun and recognized who was in front of them, brightening immediately.

“Aw! Hey! Kankuro! Thanks for getting us outta there! Can you believe some guy threw us in like that-?”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Huh...?”

Kankuro’s painted face was grim. His paint usually just looked kind of goofy but right now he looked like he could actually be pretty mean. The thin purple line of his lips narrowed further.

“Why you-! We don’t have time for this crap! You’ve got the wrong guys!”

“Naruto-kun,” Lee said. “Please remember we are representing our Nation.” He lowered his head. “We must not resist.”

“WHA?!”

Kankuro’s eyes narrowed just a little.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me! You’ve gotta know you’ve got the wrong guys! Neither of us’d ever hurt Gaara! Bushy-brow! _Tell him!_ ”

Lee just stared straight ahead.

“I will not resist.”

“Wha?!”

Lee’s mouth pinched tighter so it looked like the butthole on one of Kakashi-sensei’s Ninken.

“This is about Gaara, isn’t it! Hey! Kankuro! Don’t you wanna catch the guys who did this to him?!”

“Funny, I seem to remember Gaara coming back pretty beat up on account of both of you before.” Kankuro drawled.

“What the hell?! When was that?!”

“I believe he is referring to our Chunin exams together.”

“Huh? You mean _when were kids_!” Naruto yelled. “We fought a whole war with the guy! Don’t you think if me and Bushy Brow has a grudge we would’ve handled it then?!”

The invisible fingers wrapped around him gripped him even tighter.

_Chakra threads!_ he realized. _This is Kankuro’s jutsu! I can’t even see them! But it’s not like I can just sit here if Gaara’s in trouble!_

He tried to raise his arms. Hopped in place angrily.

“You’re one to talk! You were a jerk when you were a Genin too! Come _on_ , Kankuro!”

His replacement arm wiggled a little in its invisible bonds.

He thought he saw Kankuro raise a painted eyebrow.

“Huh. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You always were a tenacious bastard.”

“Tena-Who?” Naruto kept wiggling, blinking away the mental image of a tanuki. “Whatever! I don’t care, just let me out so we can talk about this!”

“Yeah. _Right_ ,” Kankuro scoffed. “Does anyone actually fall for that one?”

“I’m _telling_ you you’ve got the wrong guys!”

While Naruto struggled, he saw Kankuro tilt his head ever so slightly, and two puppets unfold from the walls, so cleverly concealed they seemed to be bits of wall.

“Wait! Hold up, Kankuro!”

“Naruto Uzumaki and Rock Lee. Looks like it’s your lucky day. You’re going to get to enjoy the other side of Suna’s hospitality for a little bit. I’m charging you with acts of terrorism against the nation of sand.”

“HOLD UP!” Naruto yelled. “This isn’t funny, Kankuro! Hey! Bushy Brow! _Say something will ya?_ ”

Lee could have been carved from the rock that made up his name. He didn’t move a muscle except as tugged along by the same invisible strings Naruto felt yanking at his own arms and legs, his eyes cast to the ground.

“ _This is crazy!_ Bushy-brow’s not a terrorist and neither am I! Cut the crap and tell us where Gaara is so we can find the guys who- HEY!”

A yank of the strings and Naruto fell towards an open capture puppet, bashing his hand on the edge of the opening as he tried to grab on.

He caught sight of Lee kneeling in the belly of another, bowl cut head bowed downwards in defeat.

The puppet lurched as Naruto kicked and thrashed at the walls.

“HEY! KANKURO!”

No response but motion.

“Alright! You asked for it! _Multi shadow clone jutsu!_ ”

The jutsu fizzled to sparks, then to nothing in his hands.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know what kind of idiots you have running things in Konoha, but I’m not one of them,” Kankuro said, voice muffled by the wood and the darkness. It lurched as he spoke, sending Naruto sprawling. “You think I’d talk that up and not know how to trap a Jinchuruki in Black Ant? Why do you think I _have_ that puppet?”

“What does that even mean? You saying you planned this? Hey! _Kankuro!”_

Naruto kicked at the front of the puppet. 

_ Crap! This is as bad as Captain Yamato’s jutsu! What the hell is this?! _

The floor lurched again under him with a thunk.

“Hey!”

Naruto pounded on the wood with his fists.

“Lemme out! Kankuro, you’ve gotta believe me! You’ve got the wrong guys!”

The puppet around him began to twist, the limbs outside creaking.

The whole thing fell backwards.

He could see the sunlight shining through the holes.

Naruto kicked some more at the door.

“Hey! _Kankuro!”_

No response.

Naruto made a frustrated noise, giving another savage kick to the wood.

Up close there was a faint sweet smell to the inside of the puppet. The scent of rot. Of _blood_. His eyes were adjusting. And his every instinct was pinging sharply for him to get the _fuck_ out.

Naruto grimaced and pulled the wrappings off his right hand, letting it glow faintly in the dark.

There were scuff marks in the wood. Splintery gouges. Something _bad_ happened in these.

Naruto felt the thing behind his navel shift ever so slightly, a roil of nausea coming up behind it. Ugh.

“ _KANKURO_!”

The puppet rolled, and Naruto scrambled with it. The light in the slats went out.

Almost immediately, fine sand began pouring in.

“HOLD UP!”

His own voice echoed back on him.

“Bushy Brow!”

Nothing but silence, and the sand sifting in, the puppet body rocking and lurching this way and that.

The hair rose on the back of Naruto’s neck, and the chakra in his bad hand flared white hot.

They were being _buried_.

“WAIT!”

His own voice echoed back at him from the wooden walls.

He tamped down the panic in his gut.

_ Alright, just hang on, Naruto! You’re being buried alive in some creepy puppet and you can’t use jutsu! There’s gotta be some kind of seal if you can just find it-! _

Sand pooled alarmingly around Naruto’s knees as he tried not to panic, jostled this way and that by the motion of the puppet.

He slapped his fist into his glowing palm.

“Gotta plug up the holes!” He yelled, despite nobody else being able to hear him.

Naruto yanked off his orange windbreaker with a hint of regret.

“Aw man. Hang in there, Gaara! Bushy Brow! No way I can die in a place like this! I’ve still gotta save you both! That’s a promise!”

  
  


— **ONE MONTH EARLIER** —

  
  


“YOU WANT ME TO DO _WHAAAAAAAAAT_?”

Kakashi’s flat expression didn’t change one whit—what little of it could be seen at least. Twice as much of it was visible these days as before, though that wasn’t saying much. It didn’t make him any easier to understand at all.

He stilled the pile of paperwork that had begun to slide sideways from Naruto slamming his hands on his desk. 

There was an awful  _lot_ of paperwork. Naruto didn’t think he remembered that much in Grandma Tsunade’s office. Or Old Man Hiruzen’s.

“Really, Naruto, you’d think I’d asked you for an assassination. It’s a simple enough mission. Just think of it as good practice for later,” Kakashi said mildly. Both his eyes squinted up into a smile. “If you haven’t changed your mind about being Hokage, that is.”

“No way am I changing anything!” Naruto yelled, jabbing a thumb into his chest, “You’re looking at the future Seventh Hokage, so you’d better start getting your retirement papers together, Sensei! Soon I’m gonna be the one telling _you_ to get the hell outta my office!”

Kakashi made an ambivalent noise, straightening a page on the top of the stack in that absentminded wandering way of his. “You know, I’m actually kind of glad we agree there.”

“Huh?”

“Hm?” Kakashi blinked, then squinted his eyes in a smile, waving his hand. “Oh, nothing, nothing. I don’t think I’ve actually told you to get out of my office, though.”

Naruto scowled harder and settled back somewhat reluctantly, rubbing at his nose.

He never could back down.

He never did like doing anything that involved less than a full power rushing in. But that didn’t mean he liked not knowing what was going on.

He changed the subject quickly.

“Ya know, I don’t see what this mission has to do with being Hokage anyway!” He grumbled loudly. “I bet you just wanna get outta something so you can slack off and read a pervy book!”

“I certainly wish I had that kind of carefree time back on my hands.” 

Kakashi calmly tilted the stack of paperwork back into place as he spoke, retrieving the mug serving as a weight at the very top.

It read I DO WHAT I WANT. And Naruto _hated_ that damn mug almost as much as he hated listening to Kakashi slurp his tea through his mask _without even lowering it,_ and giving out his weird missions involving weird ceremonies in weird countries.

Kakashi stared back at him with his flat, heavy lidded eyes as if he could hear the mutiny in Naruto’s mind. He tilted his head sideways like a dog, giving him a sheepish expression.

“It really is rather important though.”

Naruto bristled.

“ _Don’t you try to sweet talk your way out of this, ya weird sensei!_ ”

Kakashi waved his hand like it could deflect anger, smiling under his mask. He wandered across his office to refill his mug from a great glass decanter of tea kept hot with a stuck on jutsu—a perpetually glowing fire style.

“ _Maa._ If you want my job so badly, you need to know how to handle the diplomatic sides of it the same,” Kakashi said. His eyebrows scrunched under his headband, staring at his tea as though surprised by something in it. Maybe it’d gone cold.

_It would sure serve him right for being so weird!_ Naruto thought.

It’s all two assistants, TonTon, and Gai-Sensei can do to collect and clean out the worst of the cups and plates and left behind bits of Kakashi that tend to absentmindedly accumulate wherever he goes. It would be like him to forget to redo his warming jutsu, or leave the bag in or something.

Kakashi _could_ be extremely neat, of course, in a particular and meticulous way that forgot nothing, but it generally had to occur to him to put the effort in to do so and not just use the great filing cabinet of his mind for everything. 

He _could_ be neat. Even in clutter there were clear paths to everything Kakashi did. But Naruto _hated_ how he did that thing where he showed up late to a meeting in his own office, wandering through the window, and then walked over to seemingly random stacks of paper and lifted up the middles to retrieve information with surprising accuracy. It was like a magician picking out your card in a stack. Only it was his _Dumb Sensei_ weaving through stacks of paper balancing a dog biscuit in one hand and a mug of tea in the other, and half the time accidentally eating the dog biscuit without anyone catching what was under the mask while a Ninken licked tea out of his cup.

Naruto had no idea how anyone had ever looked at Kakashi—himself included—and thought the man had it _together_ , let alone that he should be running the place.

He was, Naruto supposed, a good Hokage. And _smart_ , too, in his own way, even without a Sharingan.

But he also _pissed him off_ sometimes just by being so... _Kakashi_ about everything.

“Ya know, being Hokage doesn’t  _look_ anywhere near as hard as you say it is!” Naruto hinted, loudly, because Kakashi tended not to listen too hard to things unless you shouted.

“Mm, no. Actually, it’s harder.” Kakashi blinked balefully at him, doing that stupid trick of his where he found exactly whatever it was he was looking for with an idle picking and started to read it like it was a mildly interesting bit of pornography. He turned the page after a moment to check out the back of it, adding, “You have the fighting aspect down, certainly, but all your other parts could use some work. I can’t give my office over to someone who’ll start a war just because it’s easy to do. And for this mission I need someone I can trust.”

Kakashi’s eyes crinkled in a smile.

“So send-!” Naruto faltered, flapping in the air. “You know! Bushier-Brow-sensei’s always down for a mission!”

That got a very slight pause. Something significant. Kakashi’s smile faded. His eyes stopped tracking quickly down the page and stared straight ahead. They closed after a moment.

“Gai has a heart condition,” Kakashi said quietly.

“He’s doing great now! I totally stopped the eighth gate!”

“You did. And do you have any idea how you did it?”

Kakashi had that way of catching him off guard. He’d just look so... goofy for a while and then he’d come back with something like _that_ that was all focused-

Naruto shuddered

It was kinda creepy, actually.

It made him feel twelve again.

“Well uh...”

Kakashi sighed, opening both flat black eyes.

“Right, so until you do, maybe it’s best not to senselessly risk the life of one of the village’s lead Jounin just because a Genin doesn’t want to fulfill a mission straight from the Hokage.”

He never really raised his voice when he was irritated.

Even at his most scathing, when he’d wanted nothing to do with them and had every reason to let them fail, Kakashi’s voice rarely rose unless there was some danger to them all.

The reproach there was particularly mild this time, which somehow made it sting a little more.

He fixed Naruto with another flat stare, then crinkled it into a smile when he balked. His tone went a little gentler still, almost like he was confiding a secret.

“That’s something you’ll get the hang of eventually too, knowing who to give what missions. If it helps, just think of all this as training.”

Naruto sighed, slumping across the Hokage’s desk.

“How come I’ve gottaaaaa?”

Kakashi just beamed like a demon.

“ _Because I said so~_ ”

“You _suck_. You’re the worst Hokage ever.”

Kakashi’s hidden grin didn’t waver. He was enjoying himself, the bastard.

_“Maa. You_ are right about one thing, though. Gai’s sense of taste is close to the worst in the village.”

“Well yeah, he likes hanging around with _you_ ,” Naruto muttered.

Kakashi chose to ignore that comment, studying him over the rim of his mug. There was a slight pause. Very slight.

“Fortunately, there’s one other Shinobi in the village at present, whose sense of taste is almost as gone as Gai’s.”

The door swung open.

Naruto stopped, then grinned.

“Haha, yeah, I guess Sakura-chan _is_ pretty tasteless.”

“ _What did you say to me?_ ”

Naruto balked immediately at her raised fist.

“WAUGH! Nothing! I didn’t say anything!”

Sakura sighed like she was drawing on some deep, hidden reserve of strength in order _not_ to hit Naruto.

“I found him doing training exercises in the woods, Sensei.”

“Mm. I had a feeling you might.”

Sakura wasn’t alone.

Rock Lee just stared straight ahead, bowing at the waist to Kakashi, somehow combining it with a salute.

“You wished for my assistance, Hokage-sama?!”

His voice _echoed_ in the tiny space. Naruto flinched at it.

Kakashi sighed, “I told you, my name’s fine, Lee.”

“Right!” Lee stayed bowed, head tipped straight towards the ground. There was sweat in the fine hairs on the back of his neck, and beading on his upper lip.

“No way! Are you _nervous_?” Naruto ducked so he could get a good look at Lee’s damp face, resolute, all pinched mouth and determined eyebrows.

“ _I am a Shinobi of the leaf and I will do my duty!_ ” Lee squawked.

“So that’s a yeah, huh?” Naruto muttered. “What for? It’s just _Sensei_.”

Sakura laid a hand on his arm.

“No! It is different!” Lee squawked, jumping slightly with the force of his shouting. “He is the Hokage now!”

Naruto snorted.

“ _This guy?_ He cried because Akamaru’s puppies were _too cute._ ”

“I _told_ you, my name’s fine,” Kakashi repeated, pointedly ignoring Naruto.

Lee didn’t straighten out of his bow.

“Akamaru-kun’s children are indeed adorable! And ferocious! That does not change that this is my first mission since Tsunade-Sama’s glorious retirement, and I will do anything not to let down my Hokage! Whatever it is, you will not be sorry you have called on the Handsome Blue devil of the Leaf, _Rock Lee!_ ”

“Gimmie a break...” Sakura sighed.

Lee’s shouting just intensified, still held in his awkward right angle bow.

“I WILL GIVE MY LIFE FOR THIS VILLAGE! WHATEVER THE MISSION I WILL ACCEPT IT, HOKAGE-SAMA! SO PLEASE LAY THIS BURDEN UPON ME!”

Kakashi stared at him thoughtfully for a moment.

“I’m not her, you know.” He said.

Lee’s hands clenched into fists while Naruto watched.

“You don’t have to prove yourself to me. I’m not the one who saved your life. And at any rate, you should probably be telling Tsunade all that.”

Lee’s eyes squeezed tightly shut.

_ What the hell is he talking about? _

“Please do not regret your choice! I will prove to you that I am worthy of Hokage-sama’s great mission! Please do with me whatever you will!”

Kakashi did that doglike head tilt again and made to rest his mug on Lee’s bent back.

“ _Sensei_.” 

Sakura’s annoyance apparently made him rethink it, smiling and waving her off, withdrawing the arm before the ceramic could touch Lee’s ramrod green spine.

_“Maa. I_ don’t think that will be necessary. It’s not a terribly exciting mission, but it’s one only you two can do.”

Lee shot back upright immediately, the former tension in his body completely gone. He _sparkled_.

“A mission requiring expertise in Taijutsu? _Aaaaaaaaalright_!”

“Nah. He’s just shuffling his lame political crap on us.” Naruto grumbled.

Lee’s round eyes went rounder. His smile faltered.

“A political mission? But I am not-“ he flustered visibly for a moment. His pursed mouth pursed tighter, eyebrows tilting hard down.

“I need two Shinobi I can trust on this,” Kakashi said, glancing at them with his formerly good eye, maybe out of habit. “Both you and Naruto had an excellent track record with Tsunade. I’m hoping that’ll continue.”

Lee teared up on the spot and shot up in another salute, all hesitation apparently gone.

“ _Yes sir!_ ”

_ Oh brother! He’s actually falling for this lame I-Can-Count-On-You crap! _

“So where does that put me?” Sakura grumbled, pouting prettily.

“Yeah! Don’t you need three shinobi for a squad, Sensei?” Naruto grinned at Lee, “Can’t we take Sakura-chan along? It’d be just like that time with the Hidden Moon guys!”

Lee brightened considerably, shooting Sakura a hopeful smile.

Something in her expression softened, smiling back.

“ _Maa_. Ordinarily, yes, a Shinobi team is a three man squad, but I have a different mission for you, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi slid a file to her, leaning back on his elbow against a stack of papers. “Actually this one asked specifically for you.”

Sakura’s eagerness faltered.

”What, some creepy dude?” She opened the file.

Kakashi waved a hand.

”Hopefully not, but if it is, I trust you can put him in his place. My best secretary will fill you in on the rest.”

Sakura’s petal-colored eyebrows arched, reading quickly. Almost as quickly as their teacher. Whatever it was was apparently interesting enough because her frown deepened.

“Put together whatever team you think works best for this. You’re-“ Kakashi paused, waving his hand, “you’re good at that sort of thing, aren’t you?”

Sakura nodded, closing the file.

“I understand, Sensei.”

Kakashi favored her with another crinkling smile.

“C’mon! Do we really have to do this with just two guys?!” Naruto whined.

Kakashi stared at him for a moment. 

“If you were hokage, you’d do this on your own. If I thought you were ready, I’d send you alone.”

Naruto’s breath let out.

Lee stared at the floor and tried to look like he hadn’t heard that.

Sakura, ever the listener at doors, eyed him much less subtly over her folder

Kakashi paused.

“But then, you always do your best work for your friends so,” he waved a hand at Lee idly, sipping through the mask and wetting down his chin with tea. He studied the mug curiously. “I’ve adjusted accordingly. I should be able to spare Lee for...hmmmm...a while. My _other_ secretary will fill you two in- ah.”

Shikamaru chose that moment to enter the office with a sack held to his hip like a baby.

“Oh. There he is.”

“Hah!” Naruto crowed, pointing a finger in Shikamaru’s face. “You hear that? Kakashi-sensei says _you’re_ not his favorite, Shikamaru!”

Sakura hid a snort behind her file. 

“ _Idiot_ ,” she muttered.

Naruto just grinned.

Shikamaru gave him an odd look, and glanced at Kakashi.

“What exactly am I walking into this time?”

Kakashi waved his hand harder, eyes crinkled apologetically.

“No, no, it’s not what you think-“

“Hah! It sure is! Better watch out for your job, Shikamaru! Apparently _somebody’s_ doing a better job!”

Shikamaru continued to look unimpressed.

“...If that’s supposed to get me working harder, I’ve gotta say I’ve seen better.”

“Now now, don’t worry. I mean.” Kakashi raised his palms, mug hanging off two fingers, half put-upon and sheepish. “Shizune-San may be my favorite,” He gave the tiniest thumbs up, “but you’re the _best_.”

He held the pose awkwardly for a moment in the silence.

_That Gai-Sensei sure is rubbing off on him!_ Naruto thought.

Shikamaru sighed.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t notice you trying to pull one over on me and just work my briefing with these two morons if that’s alright with you.”

Kakashi just lifted his thumb a fraction higher, holding his pose, laughing awkwardly.

“See? That’s what makes you the best~”

“Whatever,” Shikamaru muttered, rubbing at the underside of his topknot, nearly dislodging the half-smoked cigarette behind his ear. “I can already tell this is gonna be a total drag so let’s get it over with. Lee. Naruto. You’re with me.”

Lee snapped upright so fast Naruto flinched.

“Right!”

———

Naruto, predictably, couldn’t keep his curiosity to himself for more than about a minute—a fine and admirable trait in a fine and admirable friend! In Lee’s opinion anyway.

He felt good about being on a team with Naruto and Shikamaru. Both of them were extremely capable Shinobi, and besides, whose heart wouldn’t be lightened by watching Naruto’s harmless, friendly curiosities?

He would have felt far better if Shikamaru were at the head of the mission-

No! Kakashi-sama had said this was a two man mission!

( _Actually no_ , the insecure thing in the back of Lee’s head reminded him. This was a one-man mission. He was only here because-)

Lee snapped to sharper attention.

_If I cannot make Kakashi-sama glad he has chosen me for this mission, I will walk five hundred laps around the village on my hands! And that is a challenge!_

“Heyyyyyyy Shikamaru?” Naruto’s drawl interrupted Lee’s feverish self-rule. “What’s in the bag, anyway?”

The corner of their friend’s mouth went up. He hadn’t shaved, Lee noticed, deep circles growing under his eyes, Jounin vest pulled loosely over his mesh shirt like an afterthought. Like he’d been called in early and hadn’t stopped moving since.

“Coffee.” Shikamaru said.

“Coffee?” Naruto squinted at him.

“I see,” Lee said, despite not understanding at all, trying to channel his wise and observant Sensei.

Perhaps Kakashi-sama had some new training regimen he was beginning which required youthful bodies and hearts!

Shikamaru gave him a look that said he thought he was dumb, but Lee didn’t mind much. Shikamaru gave even their esteemed leader those looks from time to time, which meant he was in the company of some of the finest geniuses in all the lad of fire!

“I’m not an expert or anything but I don’t think we really need _that_ much coffee, right, Shikamaru?” Naruto drawled. He was following so closely behind Shikamaru his sandals clipped the backs of his friend’s. Shikamaru ignored him. “I mean how hard could it be? I mean you’re looking at the future _seventh Hokage_ -“

Shikamaru didn’t look impressed, stopping abruptly, still carrying his sack of coffee on his hip like it was a child. Naruto ran into the back of him with a muttered curse and a _hey! Watch it!_

“I don’t remember you being all that great at the foraging lesson so I get the feeling we’re going to be here for a while,” Shikamaru glowered at him pointedly.

“ _What did you say?_ ”

Lee smiled.

To have friendships from the academy days truly must be nice.

He wondered when the last time he’d spoken to anyone from his academy days was.

He wondered if any of them grew up and amended their ways. Or how many perished in the war.

His smile lowered at that.

He watched Shikamaru and Naruto bicker and thought of how lucky they were a little wistfully.

He wished more than anything he could talk to TenTen. Wherever she was on her mission. Apparently there was plenty to do if you were a weapons expert after a time of war. 

He missed her, and wondered what he would have done if it were just him and her.

...It was good to have many friends.

Shikamaru at least waited until they were out of the Hokage’s office to take his cigarette from behind his ear and light it.

Lee resisted the urge to ask him to please put it out for the sake of all their bodies. He tried to think of it as incense for the dead. An honor.

It occurred to him in a kind of sideways observation that came from watching people, expecting them to bully, that Shikamaru was about to teach them something, because he was donning the mantle of the absent Asuma-sensei in his own way, down to the cigarette, copying those he admired like Lee copied Gai-Sensei.

Lee curled his right hand into a fist behind his back, telling himself to focus.

Surely this would be important!

Shikamaru dropped his bag of coffee beans with a rattle.

“Alright, what do you two idiots know about Coffee?”

“H-Huh?”

Naruto slapped his bandaged fist into his real hand, beaming.

“Ya drink it!” He said, triumphantly.

Shikamaru didn’t laugh. He didn’t even blink.

“Anything else?”

Lee shook his head.

“I must agree with Naruto-kun. It is a beverage- ah! Are we protecting a great caravan of exotic coffee tradesmen from mortal peril?!”

Perhaps some beautiful princess! Or a handsome merchant’s son! A chance to form new bonds!

Shikamaru sighed.

“This is gonna take longer than I thought.”

He took a long drag of his cigarette, blowing smoke in Naruto’s face.

Lee coughed in sympathy.

“I’m here to teach you knuckleheads how not to embarrass the Land of Fire at the Peace summit in Suna.”

Lee blinked.

“A peace summit?”

Naruto groaned.

“More like _sensei’s_ responsibility he’s totally skipping out on!”

Shikamaru held up two beans in his fingers.

“Forget about Kakashi. I want each of you to take one of these and eat it.”

———

“ _Blurgh_.”

Lee watched his friend wipe his tongue with both hands, chewing thoughtfully with a grimace.

“How strange!” He offered, watching Naruto gag. The gritty texture wasn’t that unusual. It reminded him of TenTen’s attempts at cooking. “It is almost like the food pills!”

“That’s because you’re tasting the Nara’s private stock. There’s not much demand for coffee in Konoha except as an ingredient for soldier serums and food pills here. It’s one of the things we use for chakra boosters and energy.”

Shikamaru flicked the ash from his cigarette and scrubbed at his mesh vest with his knuckles looking bored.

“Of course in Suna, that’s different. The elites have always had a habit of drinking the stuff, but thanks to peace it’s gotten pretty popular. Suna’s method harvests these beans and roasts them, reducing the energy and the side effects.”

“ _Side effects?_ ” Naruto squawked.

Shikamaru gave him a long and tired look. 

“Irritability? Anxiety? Headaches? You’ve had a soldier pill before.”

“Well yeah but-“

Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck with his knuckles.

“They didn’t actually do that much for me?”

That makes sense, in Lee’s mind. Naruto _is_ a Jinchuruki. His chakra and regeneration abilities are both far outside the realm of ordinary.

Which is probably another reason Kakashi-sama thinks one day he’ll perform these missions alone. Naruto is...extraordinary.

He raised his hand, eager to prove he was necessary to the mission.

“Well I have had many food pills!”

Shikamaru groaned.

“Why’d he stick me with you two?” 

Something deep inside Lee flinched.

“What?”

Shikamaru didn’t repeat himself. Maybe he misheard.

“Anyway, a lot of the side effects from the pills are side effects that come from the ingredients that make them.”

“Excuse me,” Lee raised his hand again. “But what is the point of consuming a thing made from such volatile ingredients if one is a civilian?”

The corner of Shikamaru’s mouth went up.

“Who knows? Guess even civilians have stuff they wanna be alert for.” He patted the sack of beans. “I’m gonna teach you the basics of the higher ups’ coffee ceremony. After that it’s up to you not to start a war.”

Naruto made a rude noise through his nose, crossing his arms.

“If you know this stuff so well, how come _you’re_ not coming with us?”

He’d been wondering the same thing.

Shikamaru flinched, then schooled his expression back into boredom.

For such a brilliant Shinobi he certainly had trouble with his face. It was rather surprising he hadn’t seen such a question coming.

Or, maybe it was more reassuring really. Even the genius scion of the Nara clan was human.

Or perhaps he was that tired.

“Naruto-kun, I am certain Shikamaru-kun is doing his very best for the village-“

“Yeah well.” Shikamaru’s expression was odd. “Let’s just say I’m needed here. And that people in Suna’ve got reasons not to be too happy about me showing up if I did.”

Naruto grinned.

“Boy, you must really _hate_ coffee!”

Shikamaru gave him a look that was half exasperation and half fondness. He’d probably picked it up off Kakashi.

“You’re an idiot,” he said, with no heat behind it.

“If it is for the mission, then all that we may do is learn as much as we can!” Lee shouted, raising his fists in excitement. “So that we may prove we are both worthy Shinobi, and excellent students of Shikamaru-kun’s teachings besides!”

The corner of Shikamaru’s mouth quirked.

“Well I’ve got two weeks to get you to the point where you can drink without causing problems. I’m hoping at least one of you gets it right, but I’m not getting my hopes up too hard if you get my drift.”

Lee curled his hands into tighter fists.

A challenge! Those he knew what to do with!

“I will make it my goal to exceed your expectations greatly, Shikamaru-kun!”

Shikamaru’s look was baleful.

“I’m counting on that.”

———

Shikamaru taught them how to dry and roast the beans, how to lay them out and grind them.

He talked about special grinders used in Suna.

Lee took notes.

“Huhhhhhhh? What’s with the notebook? It’s just Shikamaru.”

“Unlike you he actually wants to learn,” Shikamaru drawled. For a moment, he almost looked like a fed up Iruka.

“I don’t learn by _writing_ , I’ve gotta _do it_ ,” Naruto grumbled.

“Please continue!” Lee chirped, turning a page. “You do not need to slow down for me! I will catch up!”

Shikamaru gave him an unconvinced look. He was on his third cigarette.

But he continued.

———

After drying and roasting, the beans were ground, and placed in a tin pot over a stove set low with a pinch of sugar.

Shikamaru instructed them on how to boil the beans, and to allow their cups to settle for a moment before drinking from them.

Naruto didn’t listen and got a tongue full of sludge.

While he hollered and yelled, Lee grimaced his way through the bitterness as well as he could.

Shikamaru didn’t look pleased with either of them, sighing heavily.

“You’ve got two weeks,” he said. “I’m not gonna hold your hand the whole time- what are you getting up for?” He interrupted himself staring at Lee.

Lee stared back, unblinking.

“Now we must attempt to make coffee for you as well, is that not right?”

Naruto’s giggle had an evil tinge to it.

Shikamaru’s entire expression soured.

“Yeahhhh no. I’m good.”

“Please. You are _tired_ ,” Lee insisted. “Lord Hokage has sent you to instruct us, but it would be a poor ninja indeed who did not notice that you are working very hard! Surely he would not mind if you were to stay with us a while longer. He would not expect much of such poor students.”

Something considering flickered in Shikamaru’s dark eyes. 

He blinked.

Lee didn’t.

The corner of his mouth went up.

“If you were Naruto, I’d swear you just wanted to serve me some shitty coffee.”

“I am not. I hope to serve you coffee of surprising depth and magnificence! Though you are not our team for this mission you are yet my comrade. And this bonding beverage’s shared purpose is to refresh, is that not right?”

Lee set a bandaged hand on his wrist.

“Please continue to be patient with us as we attempt to remember your fine teachings, Shikamaru-kun, and take them to heart! Please accept!”

Shikamaru’s lopsided smile widened, letting himself be pulled down to sit on the grass with them. Up close, the dark circles under his eyes were the faint color of fresh bruises.

“You’re something else, you know that?” Shikamaru sighed, settling in a lounge.

“I have heard that many times,” Lee said, as he methodically began crushing the beans, grinding them into a heap, determined to make the pile as close to Shikamaru’s as possible.

———

By the time he was done carefully trying to remember every last one of Shikamaru’s instructions, Shikamaru lay on his back with his eyes closed, head tipped up towards the clouds.

Lee didn’t want to assume he was sleeping. That would be a most unworthy assumption of another ninja after all. Surely Shikamaru’s finely honed Shinobi instincts were strong as ever!

Lee set the tiny cup carefully on Shikamaru’s mesh-covered chest.

He poured second cups for him and for Naruto.

“Ugh, another one? Come on, Bushy-Brow-“

“Naruto-kun, we will achieve nothing without practice and hard work!”

Naruto blanched at the determination in Lee’s eyes and stared at his cup.

“Ugh.”

“Wow, this is _really_ shitty coffee,” Shikamaru muttered. Lee hadn’t even seen him move his arms.

A little tendril of shadow had the cup by the handle and was tipping the coffee into the prone Shikamaru’s mouth. He hadn’t even moved his arms, just making the sign over his head.

Truly he was a very efficient ninja!

Lee ducked his head and apologized.

Naruto sniffed and sipped.

He shuddered.

“It doesn’t taste any worse than _yours_.”

Shikamaru ignored him.

“Do me a favor. When you’re in Suna? Let them make it for you. Just focus on drinking the stuff without causing a crisis.”

Lee mumbled in agreement.

“What’s that?”

“I said, yes, Shikamaru-kun!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto whistled innocently as he poured out his new cup into the grass.

“Mm! Coffee!”

Shikamaru sighed.

  
  


—  **TWO WEEKS EARLIER** —

  
  


“THERE MUST BE SOMETHING, MY RIVAL!”

Lee hesitated from knocking on the door for Kakashi’s office at the boom of his mighty teacher’s voice.

“My most terrifying secretary already told you all the missions are given out, so why come to me?”

“BECAUSE THERE MUST BE SOMETHING! A LOST CAT! AN ADVENTUROUS MAIL DELIVERY ROUTE!”

Lee frowned. _D rank missions? But those are for Genin?_

Kakashi’s normally bemused voice sounded flatter. Tired.

“Shizune told you there are no missions, so why come to me?”

Lee heard a noise. A flutter of papers hitting the ground.

“ _Kakashi_.”

He’d never heard Gai-sensei’s voice _sound_ like that. He’d seen him cry of course. Manly tears of passion, but this was closer to a wail. A _plea_. It made something shrivel up deep inside his eighth gate.

Kakashi sighed. His voice was so soft Lee could barely hear it.

“Hey. _Hey_. Weren’t you the one who told me our youth’s not done yet?”

His teacher’s juicy sniff sounded inquisitive.

“You’ve already got a mission straight from me, Gai, don’t tell me you’re forfeiting?”

“ _ABSOLUTELY NOT!_ ”

Kakashi’s awkward _heheheheh_ giggle cut the stillness of the room. There was silence for a moment, a shifting of cloth.

“It’s not like you to be greedy. Isn’t my mission good enough for you?”

“Your mission, Rival, is a challenge unlike any other.”

“Mm, well, it’s for an unparalleled Shinobi, so-“

Lee thought he could hear his Sensei laugh. Possibly it was a sob.

He was glad his teacher had at least one good friend left.

Kakashi’s voice went so low even Lee’s shinobi hearing was no match for it. A low creak of wheels shifting slightly.

Lee noticed Sakura coming around the bend of the corridor and knocked quickly. 

“Ah! Excuse me-!”

He rounded the corner just in time to see a puff of smoke vanish from the front of Gai-Sensei’s wheelchair.

Gai blinked for only a moment, outstretched hand falling before he fixed the confident grin back over his face.

“Oh! It’s my cute Lee! If you’re looking for my inestimable rival, you’ve just missed him!”

“Er. Yes. Uhm.” Lee swallowed. If his Sensei wasn’t drawing attention to the Lord Hokage’s odd behavior then he should not either. “Gai-Sensei! I had thought it would be best if I checked in with Hokage-sama. Naruto-kun and I will be leaving for Suna tomorrow and- well-“

Lee hesitated.

He thought of the way his sensei’s voice had twisted him up inside.

Lee bowed.

“Actually, I have wished to ask him if there is not someone more suited for this mission-“

“Lee,” Gai-Sensei cut him off immediately, eyebrows sitting stern. “Your _youthful passion_ makes you the best man for any team you’re put with!”

Lee’s heart swelled.

“Yes, Gai-Sensei!”

“Your hard work and skill as a Shinobi leave no doubt you’re absolutely the right choice for the job!”

Gai shot him a thumbs up, his teeth gleaming.

“I’ll let Kakashi know you’re raring and ready to go!”

“Thank you, Gai-Sensei! Oh! Sakura-chan!”

Sakura sighed, leaning in the doorway, surveying the Kakashi-free office.

“What, did he run off _again_?”

“An urgent matter required the Hokage’s immediate presence!” Gai beamed. “Is there anything the mighty and unfailing blue beast of Konoha can do for the lovely Sakura-chan?”

Sakura rolled her eyes and untucked a folder from under her arm.

“I guess you’re as good as. Here’s my team for the mission Shizune-San gave me. We can’t head off without the stamp from Sensei, though.”

“ _HMMMMMM_?”

Gai inhaled through his nose and squinted at the page.

  
“Oh! Excellent! 

Lee loyally refused to notice or think about how far out his incredible Sensei had to hold the page from him. It sent that same funny twisting feeling inside of him.

“Ah! Sakura-chan, are you setting out tonight as well?” Lee’s insides warmed happily.

To set out on the same night as Sakura-chan would be most auspicious indeed!

She smiled- (Another sign of incredible fortune!) -brushing candy-fine hair behind her genin plate.

“If I can get my team approved, sure. You and Naruto are headed out soon too, right?”

“Yes we are!” Lee shouted, swooping his arms into a pose.

Gai chuckled.

“That’s my Lee! Always a paragon of youth! You can count on the lovely blue beast of Konoha to get all this information to my exquisite rival without delay!”

Lee bunched up his hands.

Aah his sensei’s youthful spirit and vigor were always so inspiring! If Gai-sensei believed in him he couldn’t possibly fail! It had been an incredible overstepping on his part for him to try and give this mission to his teacher as though his teacher could not find missions of his own! There was nothing to worry about!

He didn’t look at the white knuckles gripping the armrest of the wheelchair.

Surely Gai-Sensei would be doing missions with him and TenTen again in no time at all! And he had a secret mission from the Hokage himself!

Everything was fine!

Lee glanced at Sakura.

She smiled at him.

“Go ahead, Lee-san, I’m just going to talk to Gai-Sensei for a little while! I’ll catch up!”

_Oh_ , everything was going to be alright!

Lee bounced out of the room, ignoring the ozone smell of healing jutsu in the back of his nostrils.

The echo of burning blood.

———

“Naruto-kun!” Lee shouted outside his window. “Naruto-kun, get up! We must begin our journey!”

He heard a thump, and the scramble to unlatch the window.

Naruto squinted at him. 

He was wearing a nightcap that made it look like his head was being eaten by a disembodied dog. It was most humorous. Lee resolved to compliment him on it later.

“What the _hell_ , Bushy Brow, I was just about to go to bed! We don’t leave until tomorrow!”

“Yes! But then I had the most wonderful idea! That we could leave tonight! The invigorating run in the cool of the night will bring your spirits back to full energy!”

Lee couldn’t explain how he was sure if they were to leave at the same time as the lovely Sakura-chan’s team he was sure their entire venture would go that much better. He couldn’t explain it. Something about Sakura always put his heart at ease. When he was younger he’d thought it was because he was in love with her. These days he wasn’t so sure. But the feeling remained either way. He just felt _better_ around her. Stronger. More sure of what he wanted to do with his life.

Lee believed in tangible things, and in working towards one’s goals, but some things between people were inexplicable. Instinctive.

Naruto rubbed his eyes.

“We’re not supposed to leave until tomorrow!”

“Are you in a state of unreadiness? Naruto-kun! You should have told me! I would have been happy to assist you with your packing!”

“Hey! Don’t just invite yourself up- _Bushy Brow!”_

———

Lee hummed to himself and did one-handed pushups while Naruto grumbled and filled their canteens with water.

There were plenty of canteens.

Naruto was a heavy packer.

Lee was not so secretly delighted by that. It would be a most worthy challenge to carry both packs, and would go some way towards mollifying his companion. Naruto was _not_ looking forward to a brisk run through the night. Lee was already planning special challenging routes to spur his comrade’s sense of adventure on.

Ah and he’d lost count of his push-ups.

That was what he got for losing focus.

That would be a bonus challenge to make Naruto smile five times before the sun came up, or he would carry Naruto for the remainder of the journey.

“Anything else?”

Lee frowned slightly.

Still no sign of Sakura-chan or her team!

Surely the sight of the lovely Sakura-chan would stir both of them with new vigor.

“Heyyyyyyy Konoha to Bushy-Brow. You with me, buddy?”

Lee inhales through his nose and stood, dusting off his bandaged palms.

“Are you certain you have everything you wish to take with you?”

“Isn’t that what I’m asking you?” Naruto frowned at him. “You sure you’re okay there?”

“I am beyond well! I am excellent! A true paragon of youth ready to face any challenge!”

Naruto frowned and patted his pack. He chewed his lip for a moment, seeming to weigh his words.

“If you’re that worried, I guess it’s no big deal to leave early. If it’ll help you out.”

“It would be most rude if we were absent or tardy. Hokage-sama has trusted us-“

“Yeah yeah,” Naruto muttered, scuffing his sandals and shouldering his pack. 

Even in his pretense of grumpiness there was a kind of embarrassed fondness, something in the furtive glancing of his pale eyes at Lee. A little bit of Sasuke that had rubbed off on him, maybe.

“If ya need something else I guess we can get it together before we go.”

Lee smiled. The band around his eighth gate felt swollen to bursting.

“The last thing I require is the company of my dear friend, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto’s smile broke like sunlight through the clouds, rubbing his neck, irritability gone just like that.

“Aw shucks. I’m here. Let’s get going then, huh?”

Lee scanned the village exit one last time for Sakura.

“Bushy Brow?”

Lee straightened up.

“Lead the way, Naruto-kun! You were chosen first for this mission so it is clear this team is yours!”

“Hey yeah, I was, wasn’t I?”

Naruto’s orange chest puffed out.

“Alright then! Team Uzumaki, _let’s roll_!”

Lee didn’t have to be told twice.

———

He put Sakura’s absence out of his mind.

———

“Would you like to take a shortcut?”

“Shortcut? What shortcut- WAUGH! Bushy Brow, that’s the forest of death! _Bushy Brow_ , wait up!”

———

Between challenges and the flowering antics of two friendly men in the peak of their youths, they made it to Suna by the evening of the second day of their journey.

———

“Whaddaya mean he’s not on the list?! How the hell do you forget a name like _Rock Lee?_ ”

The checkpoint for entering Suna’s walled city was thankfully cool, a valley between two cliffs.

The gatekeeper was a stocky woman, both wide and tall, face covered in a veil attached to a turban. The only visible part of her aside from her narrow eyes were the deep red swirls of her tattooed temples and her uncovered hands, which were the color and texture of leather.

“Ya got _me_ there, right? Uzumaki Naruto?”

“Uzumaki-san has the full diplomatic clearance afforded by a letter of recommendation by the Hokage, but there is no Shinobi by the name of Rock Lee.”

“He’s a war hero! Ask-“ Naruto gesticulated. “Is Gaara here? Gaara will tell you he’s allowed!”

The gatekeeper’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry, but this ceremony is forbidden to Civilians.”

“He’s not a civilian! Look!” Naruto seized a handful of Lee’s vest. “Bushy Brow is a Jounin! A _Jounin_ , ya hear?!”

The woman’s eyes were placid and icy when they fixed on Lee, pausing for only a moment before repeating, “No one who can perform neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu is permitted into the ceremony as a representative of their nation.”

Lee’s throat tightened in a lump.

_Oh_.

“Bullshit!” Naruto yelled. “There’s gotta be some way! He’s my friend, ya hear!”

The gatekeeper paused.

“Your _friend_ ,” she said, as though appraising them both in a new light.

“Yeah! He’s my friend! And either we go into this thing together or we don’t go in at all! And you can explain to _Gaara_ how come his _friends_ aren’t at his weird peace coffee thing!”

The gatekeeper could have been made from stone.

“One moment,” she said, rising. 

Naruto valiantly tried to glare up at the mountain of a woman as she stepped back to confer with a hooded figure in the shadows. Lee thought it was male by the stature, face cast deeply into shadow, a scroll at its waist. The deep hood seemed to stare at them a moment before nodding once.

The gatekeeper made her way back to them, settling back down into her chair.

“I see,” she said slowly. “Well. Each guest is of course permitted accommodation for...a friend.”

Naruto shot Lee two thumbs ups while Lee shot him one back, putting out of his mind the curious inflection the gatekeeper had put on the word.

“However, Uzumaki-San, your arrival is...quite a bit earlier than expected. The hospitality brigade was not expecting two such guests-“

“Ah! It is no trouble! Please! We did not mean to arrive early if it would inconvenience our hosts! One room is quite alright!” Lee blurted, bowing hastily and repeatedly.

The gatekeeper didn’t look any less annoyed with them. And Naruto had his arms crossed, squinting at him like such a person was prone to intimidation. Lee doubted it. Few people struck him as so unyielding as Suna’s diplomatic officials. This woman in particular seemed a tough one to sway.

“Thank you for your thoughtfulness!” Lee shouted, bowing hastily at the waist. “We would not wish to cause any greater inconvenience!”

The woman studied him impassively, then turned to Naruto as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

Something in Lee shrank just a little, but outwardly he stood tall.

Shinobi or no in the eyes of Suna, he would do his village proud!

What did it matter what they called him as long as he fulfilled his mission?

———

_Civilian_ still left a lingering aftertaste in the back of his mind. A bad omen.

His vest seemed heavier around him as he emerged from the checkpoint and entered the Village Hidden in the Sand.

———

In hindsight, given the yelling Naruto did when he actually witnessed the problem with the single room, it was possible Lee should have inconvenienced the Hospitality Committee further.

———

“Please do not worry, I can take the floor-!”

“No!”

“But it is my-“

“It was totally your being so _polite_ that got us into this mess!” Naruto snapped for the third time, “No way am I letting you handle it! You’ll probably get the only bed taken _away_!”

“I will not apologize for being gracious to our hosts! This is a diplomatic mission, Naruto-kun!”

“Yeah well I’m _diplomatically_ taking the floor where I can scratch my giant scorpion bites where _someone_!forgot I was leading the mission, just like _someone_ got the great idea to leave early!” Naruto hollered back, pulling the blanket over his head.

Lee’s temper flared with the drawn down line of his mouth. He held his breath for a moment, unwinding his bandages.

“WAUGH?!”

The headboard of the bed bashed against the wall as Naruto was pulled into the bed in a tangle of bandages and limbs.

“LEGGO LEGGO! I’m not sleeping with a guy!” Naruto yelled, flailing even as Lee wrestled him into the pillows.

“Is is much too cold on the floor! Naruto-kun, do not be _foolish_!”

“Who’s dumb?! I’m not dumb!” Naruto yelled back, still flailing away to no avail as Lee pressed his face into the pillows. “It’s your fault I haven’t gotten any sleep in the first place!”

Lee _inhaled_.

“SECRET BONDING TECHNIQUE: FIST OF FRIENDSHIP!”

Naruto _screamed_.

———

“Heya, Bushy brow?” Naruto half whispered, scooted over as far as he could to one side of the bed, with Lee scooted as far as he could to the other.

Whoever had supplied the room had at least had the presence of mind to give them more than one blanket. Naruto had cocooned himself promptly on his side, but even as exhausted as he was he seemed to be having the same trouble Lee was.

In the near-dark Lee could make out the tassel of his sleeping cap, and the bump of the bed as he occasionally scratched an insect bite. 

“You asleep?” Naruto whispered.

“No,” Lee replied truthfully from as far on the other side of the bed as decorum would allow.

Once the chivalry had worn off it had dawned on him that he was alone. In bed with a friend. A very _attractive_ , male friend, in a foreign country. Which was...fine. Lee has been in close quarters with attractive people before, though the true stirrings of his heart were few and far between and often fruitless.

(He wasn’t going to think about that now that he was in-)

No, he hadn’t shared such a close space since he’d been on missions with Neji and TenTen.

The grief of that kept gnawing at him at unexpected moments.

It had seemed such days would stretch forever not too long ago.

Lee blinked back his tears.

He hoped tonight wasn’t a night with nightmares.

He was supposed to have checked in with Lady Tsunade before he left. Why was he remembering that now? Three days late?

He wasn’t afraid she would shelve him off active duty- no. That would be an unworthy fear-

Lee scrunched into his blankets.

Naruto shifted slightly behind him.

It was so...quiet in Suna.

Lee rubbed his nose where it was cold in the chill of the room, scrunching a little further under his own blanket, trying not to think of Naruto’s heat across the bed from him.

He rolled over quickly to face the tiny window set high into the wall, the faint light of the Sand village and the moon shining through. He stared at it.

Naruto’s blankets rustled behind him.

“You ever think...maybe we get sent out for stuff because they hope we’re gonna turn into our parents?” Naruto asked.

Lee stared at the window, bewildered.

That was the furthest from what he’d expected to get asked.

“Gai-Sensei is not actually my _father_ ,” he began.

“Well yeah, I mean, I _know-“_

”Although we do have very similar eyebrows-“

”Well yeah but he’s _as good as_ , right? And you look up to him and stuff! Kinda like how I looked up to the fourth Hokage.” Naruto’s voice quieted, “Ya know. Before I knew he was my _dad_.”

Lee’s throat tightened

“It is very different actually,” he said. “Before Gai-sensei, there was no one who believed in me-“

“Huh? _I_ believe in you.”

The lump in Lee’s throat grew as he stared steadily at the icy light of the desert moon, feeling the unfamiliarity of the place about him, the chill of the air and the unfamiliar warmth of Naruto far behind him.

A little bubble of a grief he kept holding back.

“And I am very grateful for it.” He whispered. That much was true. “But I did not have you very early on. Gai-Sensei saw me, and told me to believe in the youth within me. He told me-“ Lee wiped his eyes. “He- he said that so long as I believed in myself, and pursued my goals with the full fire of youth that I would surely succeed.”

“Ya sure did!” Naruto chuckled from the other side of the bed. “I don’t think I know anyone as cool as you! I mean seriously! Beating the odds! Becoming such a cool Shinobi! You’re _totally_ tops in my book! Those Suna bastards don’t know a thing if they think you’re just some civilian! I mean who do they think they _are_?!”

The warmth and pride in Naruto’s voice, the indignation was almost as good as Gai-sensei’s. It warmed him even in this cold place.

Lee sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands to keep from weeping. It took him a moment to get himself together enough so he trusted his voice.

“Then to answer your question, I do not think that, no. I do not think I am meant to replace Gai-Sensei. I do not think I could ever fill his shoes or be as great a man as he is.”

He hesitated.

“I think...Hokage-sama did not want me here at all.”

He felt Naruto jerk upright in bed.

“What?! That’s not true! Kakashi-Sensei _chose_ ya didn’t he? Besides, he’s trying to be my dad too. You feel it, don’t ya? How he’s totally hiding things when we go see him? It’s really pissing me off!”

Lee swallowed the lump in his throat, huddling a little more under his blankets and staring at the moon.

“I do not, actually. You...met your father in the war?” Lee said. “If it is not prying...what was that like?”

Naruto shifted slightly in the dark.

“It was cool I guess? It felt like I’d met him before though, ya know? Like he’d always been a part of me. Waiting to come out.”

Lee nodded in the darkness and tried not to let on about the tears rolling down his cheeks.

“That is good. I am very happy for you.”

Long silence stretched between them for a moment.

“You ever meet your parents?”

“No. My parents were civilians. They fell behind during a time of war and the Shinobi taking them to safety could not protect them.”

Naruto shifted in the bed.

“Oh my _God_ , that’s terrible! Why didn’tcha say anything?”

Lee made an indefinite noise.

“You did not ask. I do not remember them, really. And I was not very well liked within the Konoha Orphanage. I do not think I would know what such a bond should feel like, so I do not allow it to trouble me. Instead, I cherish every bond I am permitted to make.”

He felt the bed shifting behind him, warmth against his back, not touching, but radiating.

“That’s pretty good then, I guess. I don’t think it’s like. Something where you sweat it? And _I_ think you’re pretty great.”

Naruto giggled.

“So what, are we like, brothers then, maybe?”

Lee swallowed again.

He could hear Hinata screaming in his mind’s ear. Could see the bloodstream if from a lifeless mouth.

_Neji-Nii!_

He put his hands over his eyes.

Naruto’s breathing sounds soft and thoughtful behind him.

“When I’m Hokage...” Naruto breathed, like he was trying to come up with something to say, maybe the articulation of a dream or maybe just something to touch the deep worry inside Lee. “I _promise_ I’ll always have missions for you,” he said finally. 

The words hung there in the air.

_There’s always going to be a place for you._

“So don’t go thinking you’ll have it easy, ya know!” Naruto sputtered after into the silence, like he was embarrassed. “Because it’s not gonna be like just running wherever you want! I’m gonna be super tough on you! After all, you’re like, the _best_ Taijutsu specialist in the village after Bushier Brow-sensei, right? There’ve gotta be plenty of missions you’re perfect for! I mean, that speed of yours is top notch! And you’re a really super guy! I bet you’ll have so many missions you’ll _hate_ me!”

Lee had both hands pressed over his mouth so Naruto wouldn’t hear his shaking, or weeping.

_There is always going to be a place for you._

“The stuff that killed your parents though...” Naruto hesitated. “You mean _me_ , yeah? I mean. You’re older than me, right?” Naruto paused. “ _ I’m _ what did it. Aren’t I?”

Lee bit his tongue.

Naruto sighed.

“Ya could’ve told me-“

“I cannot miss what I did not know-“

“Sure ya ca-“

“Naruto-kun-“

“If _that’s_ how it is, it’s kinda the least I could do-“

“ _Naruto-kun_.” Lee cut him off more loudly. The beat of silence was almost deafening. “I do not think it was anyone’s _fault_. I do not believe that casting blame or seeking vengeance is the key to making one a strong Shinobi who can protect others.”

He moved a little further onto the edge of the bed.

“Besides, is it not unpleasant to have something held against you that you cannot help about yourself? Does it not make you want to surpass that limit at all costs?”

He felt the bed shift behind him. Like Naruto was listening. Lee just stared out of the window.

“I have always felt we were very much the same, only your talent is far greater. I _know_ you will achieve your goals and be a splendid Hokage.”

He could hear Naruto’s breath let out behind him, the tangible relief.

“...You’re a pretty great guy, ya know that, Bushy Brow?” Naruto breathed.

Lee tightened his blankets around himself slightly.

“I could very well say the same for you as well, Naruto-kun.” He hesitated, eyeing the icy moonlight.

He thought he could feel something, there in the darkness, as though it was watching him. The faint scent of blood. But it didn’t make him want to run, or fill him with guilt. Something else...

Something inexplicable.

“It is not in my nature to bear a grudge, but neither is it my way to forget that it is because of you that Gai-Sensei lives. It is not in my nature to attempt to describe something as meaningful as a bond. And the truth is, I am not good with words.”

Naruto shifted behind him, muttering, “You sound just fine to me.”

Lee ignored him, staring out the window, towards the sense of _presence_ , something vast and beyond describing, watching him.

“I promise that I will never forget this great debt which I owe you,” he said.

Naruto’s arm flopped over his neck.

“Man, will ya shut up? That’s nothing special and I’m real tired!”

He could feel the warmth of him snuggling along his back.

“Jeez, is it always this freezing here? I thought this was supposed to be a _desert_!”

Lee swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Yes, I had believed that as well.”

“ _Stupid freezing desert..._ ” Naruto grumbled under his breath.

Lee smiled into his blanket, shuffling to lay the edge of it over Naruto’s shivering cocoon.

The sense of being watched, and the faint memory of the smell of blood faded from his peripheral senses.

He put it out of his mind.

-o-O-o-

**Author's Note:**

> Whaddup, I’m Skuun. I can be found at EgregiousDerp on tumblr, and all I want for Hanukkah is eight days of pain and unlimited hammertime.


End file.
